


Advanced Placement

by guessimdemoms



Series: Strange Magic [6]
Category: Arrested Development
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:40:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25642939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/guessimdemoms/pseuds/guessimdemoms
Summary: Gob doesn’t, admittedly. Did they even have AP classes when he was in school? He can’t remember much of high school, come to think of it, but Michael took some tough classes, was he in all AP classes?
Relationships: George Oscar "Gob" Bluth/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Strange Magic [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1982122
Kudos: 6





	Advanced Placement

**Author's Note:**

> This is based off an AU universe I've been working on for awhile now. I can go into details about the characters of Meredith and Renee later, if anyone wants. Or I could just publish my other works that have their backstory.
> 
> I'm sorry if this is bad.

The first time Gob learns that word is at a parent-teacher conference at the end of Renee’s eighth grade year, and it has him frowning in confusion. 

“George, they want to put her in all AP classes!” Meredith squeals on the car ride home. “Do you know what that means?” 

Gob doesn’t, admittedly. Did they even have AP classes when he was in school? He can’t remember much of high school, come to think of it, but Michael took some tough classes, was he in all AP classes? 

“AP, Gob.” Michael says with a smile when they’re back in the family home. “Means advanced placement. They want Renee in advanced placement classes.” 

Oh. 

Secretly Gob always knew his daughter was smart, but it only came out more when she got older. Last year, she joined her dad and uncle at the Bluth Company and while she was doing homework they were arguing about a missing fund and ‘how the hell can these two accounts equal fifty-six, no you did the math wrong!’. 

And Renee took the papers when Michael and Gob were arguing, quietly did the math, and then announced over their raised voices ‘It’s actually a hundred and three’. 

Michael had eyed her curiously but Gob didn’t notice, puffing his chest with pride and declaring ‘see Mikey even my daughter can do the math better than you!’ 

Guess that explains the AP classes then. 

Renee cries when she learns this, she doesn’t want to take AP classes because then she’ll be separated from her best friend Eva, her only friend (the San Francisco social scene didn’t exactly want their children associating with a witch’s daughter) and plus she’ll be with a bunch of nerds. Michael tries to calm her fears but Renee, fourteen and a teenager, doesn’t listen and goes storming off to her room, slamming the door behind her.

Lindsey just laughs in the living room and declares, “Welcome to raising a teenager, it’s hell!” 

(Gob wants to point out that Lindsey and Tobias barely raised their kid at all, but a look from Meredith shuts him up.) 

In the end it’s decided Gob would go upstairs and reason with the teenager, and that’s how he ended up in front of a large door in the second floor hallway hearing the muffled sound of ‘Candy Store’ playing on the other side. 

“Dove?” Gob calls, knocking on the door.

“Go away!” Renee orders. 

“If you won’t talk to me, I’ll just grab your Uncle Tobias.” Gob says with a shrug and that’s what gets her. ‘Candy Store’ is turned down, and after a few minutes Renee opens the door to her room, eyes all rimmed red and looking downright miserable. 

“If you’re here to talk to me about those AP classes then you can forget it.” Renee announces crossing her arms. 

“Dove, this is a good opportunity for you! If you go into regular classrooms you’ll be bored all the time.” Gob points out. 

“At least I’ll be bored with Eva.” Renee mumbles looking to the ground. 

“You’ll still see her dove, at lunch, going to your classes, after school when all you do is re-enact Hamilton and drive your cousin crazy.” Gob explains chuckling at the last time they performed how Maeby came storming down the stairs screaming ‘if she had to hear Satisfied one more fucking time’. 

“I don’t want to be smart! Why couldn’t I just be average!” Renee huffs finally losing her bravo and suddenly she’s that five-year-old girl again who wouldn’t leave her parents side on the first day of kindergarten and god when did she get so big? She allows Gob to hug her and she sobs in his chest as he gently strokes her back. 

“Dove, you don’t want to be like me.” Gob whispered and that got Renee to stop crying. She looks up at him with her big brown eyes that absolutely can melt him in confusion.

“Dad you’re not dumb…” 

“But you can be so much more than I was! You can learn everything you want to learn and nothing can stop you! It’s better than doing magic tricks for a crowd of thirty people, if you’re lucky.” Gob points out. 

“But I like your magic.” Renee mumbles. 

“I just want you to do better, go to college, become a doctor, scientist, hell anything you want! Maybe even perform on Broadway!” At that Renee’s face goes red and Gob knows he hit a nerve; the teenager would happily since all alone in her room or with Eva, but is petrified of crowds. 

(They found that out the hard way when she was eight and he attempted to get her involved in an act.) 

“You know what I mean, you have the world ahead of you. A much better chance at life then I ever had, you need to take it by the horns.” Renee sighs and looks up at him again, a half smile on her face. 

“Alright, I guess I’ll take those dumb AP classes.” Renee says with a shrug. 

“Dove I’m so happy for you!” Gob announces crushing Renee into a hug which she doesn’t seem to mind by the sound of her laughter. “Just promise me one thing?” 

“Oh?” 

“Don’t turn into a jerk like your Uncle Michael.” Gob begs and he smiles as she throws her head back and laughs and god why does that sound like his laugh, she’s not even related to him. 

Gob’s so proud that later, as Michael is talking to her about potentially, someday becoming partner at the Bluth Company and Buster proudly boasts that ‘he's a scholarly man himself’, Gob runs out and buys Barnes and Noble out of every AP book he can find.

And it doesn’t matter that he accidentally sets them on fire later while helping cook dinner, the point is he helped raise a pretty smart kid. 

Smarter than he’d ever be, and he couldn’t be happier.


End file.
